New BATMAN: RESURRECTION Novel Will Continue Tim Burton's '89 Batman Story

Author John Jackson Miller is best known for writing several Star Wars novels, most recently The Living Force, and now he is writing a book that takes place here on Earth - Gotham City, specifically. This story, titled Batman: Resurrection, is a continuation of the legendary 1989 Tim Burton Batman movie.

Miller released a statement about the new novel in an interview with io9, stating:

“There are dream projects, and then there are projects you never dreamt were possible. This is the latter. People always ask what world I wanted to get the chance to write in; I never named Burton’s take on Batman because I never imagined it could happen. But [PRH] editor Tom Hoeler found a way.”

Resurrection will directly follow the events after the 1989 movie, in a similar manner to DC Comics’ own Batman ‘89 miniseries, as Batman’s fight to protect Gotham in the wake of the Joker’s death continues. Ever vigilant, Batman battles the remnants of the Joker’s gang, but between criminal turmoil, the lingering damage the Joker’s gas attacks had on the city, and trying to imagine a future for himself beyond crime fighting, he realizes that it will take both of his masks to try and pull Gotham back into the light: the cowl of the caped crusader and the wealthy pocket book of Bruce Wayne. But as he finds his desire to save Gotham becoming an obsession, and the forces of the criminal underworld growing more powerful by the day, Batman begins to wonder... could his greatest foe have survived their fateful encounter?

Miller went on to add:

“Whereas the DC Batman ‘89 comics are set after the Tim Burton films, I chose to make Batman: Resurrection a direct sequel novel to [the 1989 movie], meaning characters ranging from Vicki Vale and Alexander Knox to Max Shreck and Selina Kyle from Batman Returns can appear in the book. Batman shaped the writer I am. I saw it in the theater 12 times. I reviewed it for my college paper and wrote about it often in comics magazines, including an essay on Prince’s Warner Bros. Records soundtrack. Writing Batman: Resurrection has been like reuniting with old friends.”

Batman: Resurrection will hit shelves October 15—and is available to pre-order now.